Everyone CALM. DOWN. It was ICE. It’s always ICE’s fault.

A video of NBA all-time great Michael Jordan is going viral after his team won the Daytona 500. The video, linked here, depicts a shocking action by MJ at first glance, and of course, the internet ran with it. Now, I will admit, at first glance, it’s not a great look for the former 6x NBA champ. The video shows Mike repeatedly grabbing at the behind of the son of his winning driver, Tyler Reddick, then seemingly rubbing his calves. Accusations immediately followed, calling MJ a pedophile and declaring this clear sexual assault. Well, I’m here to tell the internet they’ve got it all wrong. Michael was simply helping out a youngin’ in a tough position. We all grew up either getting ice put down the back of our shirt, or doing the icing ourselves, and when we did this, oftentimes that ice would get stuck in our shirts, with no feasible way of getting it out quickly without a Breanna Stewart-like wingspan. We’d struggle to no avail, laboring to get that slippery piece of frozen water to fall down our back and to the ground, wishing we had someone on our side to help tug at our shirt and release the ice for us. Here, in this viral video, we see another wingspan GOAT, Michael Jordan, flashing back to his youth, when his arms were still short and he couldn’t get that ice out of his shirt, helping a fellow team member, Tyler Reddick’s son, get that wicked ice to come out by grabbing at his shirt…repeatedly. That’s all this was. Nothing more. Michael is the darling of the sport of basketball, and now he’s also a hero to young children everywhere dealing with ice.

The accusations that immediately followed this video were disgusting. It was ice’s fault. These accusations involving ice reminded me of other accusations being thrown around our country regarding another type of ice, U.S. Immigrations & Customs Enforcement. ICE is currently facing intense scrutiny due to a massive expansion of, and more aggressive approach to, immigration enforcement under the second Trump administration. This has included widespread, and sometimes violent arrests throughout the country. It’s easy for these ICE agents to go around accusing and racially profiling US citizens, detaining them until they prove they’re innocence, rather than being innocent until proven guilty. Just like it’s easy to accuse Michael Jordan of pedophilia.

Ironically, Many of the people out there criticizing Michael Jordan are also criticizing ICE for doing exactly what they have done to MJ. Blindly accuse. I think it’s time to take a look in the mirror for those people, and consider the context and possibilities. Don’t be like ICE, but do understand it was just ice in this MJ scenario. 

I hope this excerpt clears Michael’s name, while also shedding light on all of the ice-related issues in our country today, and their intertwinings. Please feel free to share the blog to spread awareness of these issues and how we at Bite Size Sports are working to raise awareness.

Stay informed,

Miller